The present invention generally relates to a writing tablet used in various applications where the security or privacy of the information written therein is a concern. In recent years, as society has entered the “information age” there has arisen a compelling need for privacy, confidentiality ands security of the information gathered, especially that of an individual. One example of this issue is the privacy of information divulged by an individual to a medical services provider. Even the name of the patient should be maintained in a confidential manner.
In other contexts, however, privacy is of paramount import. In a government facility, or even a private business, often the visitor log must be kept confidential. In addition, much of the information maintained in these facilities must be maintained at a certain level of security clearance.
Prior devices have attempted to meet the needs of information privacy but have fallen short of the desired mark. U.S. Pat. No. 6,896,028, to Brennan describes a privacy screen often utilized in the medical services industry. Clearly, however, such a device only protects the patient during examination and fails to address the need to maintain the privacy of written or stored information.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,804,787 to Dick and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 2002/0123909 to Salisbury detail systems and devices which may be utilized in various industries to maintain and share records to afford privacy of the information. These systems and devices, however, deal with stored records, typically on a business computer system. They fail to address the rudimentary issue of privacy of information from the moment an individual enters a business or service provider.
A log ion and badge system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,191,316 to Bolon. This device, is practical only in those circumstances wherein a visitor must wear an identification badge into the premises. Such a system would not be effective in a medical services operation, legal services provider or any other type of business where even the very identity of the individual should be confidential. Moreover, with this system, the used badges must be contained and are often disposed in a common receptacle. This defeats the purpose of privacy, as a curious entity need only peruse the trash to discern exactly who entered, as well as possibly the time and purpose of the visit.
What is needed is a security and privacy tablet wherein the information may be written or noted and then immediately covered to prevent subsequent disclosure, even if inadvertent. An additional feature which would be advantageous would be to maintain the tablet in a manner such that information could be thereafter maintained as confidential but stored in a desired manner, such as on a single entry sheet for any given day.